


After the Party

by Alexwritesfics



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Alcohol, Basically everyone's kind of hungover, First Kisses, Fluff, Jimmy Kent's Bright Ideas, M/M, Morning After, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Spin the Bottle, Swearing, The Broken Glass Incident, Thomas is a little younger in this but still older than Andy, modern!AU, very self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 17:31:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4400957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexwritesfics/pseuds/Alexwritesfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas wakes up after a house party. Fluffy as all hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the Party

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I wrote today. You know how much I love my cliche fluffy Parkbarrow.

This was all Alfred's fault.

...Well, maybe it was Jimmy's. Thomas couldn't remember who's idea the party had been in the first place.

Thomas Barrow groaned a little as he woke up, feeling warm on one side and decidedly colder on the other.

Something... Something was wrapped around him... Haphazardly at best.

All he really knew was that he was still at Alfred's house. Thomas heard the distant sound of broken glass being crushed beneath someone's shoes, the sound of a teaspoon chinking against a cup as tea was stirred, the hazy buzz of tired conversation.

And all of it hurt his head.

He squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to dream again instead of feeling like he just got hit by a truck, or more accurately, dealing with a massive hangover.

There was an awkward cough alarmingly close to where Thomas was lying. Thomas knew he should've been embarrassed or at least intrigued, but he was so tired and sore from sleeping on the floor that he merely groaned again and burrowed back into the warmth of the make-shift blanket, hands scrabbling against fabric as he attempted to drape more of it over himself.

'S-Sorry...'

The voice was nervous and vaguely familiar. Thomas finally braved the hazard sunlight was to his hungover vision, blinking it in blearily. '...Mnhh,' was all he managed.

'Did I wake you...?' The voice asked, and Thomas' eyes finally adjusted.

The man in-front of Thomas was young, curls adding to an already formidable bed-head look. He was pale - probably hungover himself - and his eyes were wide and almost fearful. There was a faint black smudge on his cheek where he'd wiped something away (probably some lewd drawing someone had done while the man was asleep). He was tall, which Thomas could ascertain even when the man was sitting down, and he was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans.

'...No,' Thomas mumbled, his throat feeling dry and scratchy. 'I was already awake.' He smiled minutely, trying to get the man in-front of him stop looking so scared.

'Oh, um, good. I'm glad,' the lad said quietly, running his fingers nervously through his hair. 'It's just, um...'

'Well, c'mon,' Thomas said. 'What is it?'

'...You're lying on my jacket.'

_Oh._

Thomas felt himself blush, currently too tired to check himself and control his outward reactions to other people. 'I-I apologise,' he mumbled, looking down at the fateful "blanket", which was indeed a faded denim jacket. He hesitated, wanting to give the jacket back but also not wanting to lose the warmth.

'Keep it a bit,' the man said, a bit of softness seeping into his tone.

'Um... Thank-you,' Thomas said, sitting up with a wince. 'Shit...' He closed his eyes for a minute and waited for the world to stop spinning.

'Hey, are you okay?' The lad asked. 'D-Do you feel like you're gonna be sick?'

'No, no, I'm fine. It's not exactly my first time,' Thomas said with a rueful smirk, opening his eyes again. He felt so rough that he didn't even care to protest when the man momentarily lifted the jacket from him, carefully placing it over Thomas' shoulders.

'I'm... Andy Parker. If you don't remember,' the lad said sheepishly, extending a hand.

Thomas took the hand, shaking it with another small smile. 'I'm Thomas...'

The man named Andy's mouth changed into a shy grin. 'Yeah... I know.'

'Oh _God_ ,' Thomas said, groaning a little again. 'Did I make a total arse of myself last night? Honestly, I don't mind you telling me.'

'W-Well, not really,' Andy replied, laughing a little. 'Y-You seem like a friendly bunch of people. You all welcomed me into the group pretty quickly.'

'How did I meet you?'

'You were trying to stop Alfred from taking his trousers off and doing the Cha-Cha-Slide,' Andy explained quickly, blushing slightly. 'I gave you a hand with it and then you gave me a can of cider.' Thomas couldn't help but notice that when Andy blushed, it reached the tips of his ears. It was kind of... Cute.

Thomas shook his head to clear it - he was such an idiot with alcohol in his system sometimes. 'Well, I'm certainly glad _that_ didn't happen.'

Andy coughed awkwardly again. 'Uh, no, it did happen in the end. You were going to join him-'

'-Oh God-'

'-But you fell over. Onto my lap,' Andy finished lamely.

Now it was Thomas' turn to blush all over again. He put a hand to his mouth, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to look Andy in the eye for a moment. 'Oh, God...' he repeated into his palm. 'I'm so sorry, Andy. I don't usually get like that when I drink, I don't usually get like that at all... Ugh, I'd kill for a cigarette right now...'

'It's fine...' Andy said quickly, causing Thomas to open his eyes. 'I got just as embarrassing when I started drinking properly...' Andy chewed on his lip, clearly biting back a sheepish smile.

'Well, okay. I guess I _did_ make a total arse of myself,' Thomas said with a small laugh. 'So, what did you do that was so scandalous then, Andy Parker?' _I like that name. Andy. Sounds... Nice._

'...Um... You really don't remember?' Andy said. 'I... I mean, I only remember bits of it, but...'

'...What is it? Did we end up doing something stupid?'

'Um...' Andy's fists clenched and unclenched nervously.

'So, who brought you along to the party, then?' Thomas asked, swiftly changing the subject. _Poor guy looks like he's about to spontaneously combust..._

'I came here with Daisy,' Andy said with another one of his shy grins. 'She's a lovely girl.'

'Ohhh, something going on there, then?' Thomas said with a smirk of his own, too tired to remember his constant front of disinterest and apathy. Daisy deserved a nice man to be with.

'W-Well, if there ever was, I think she would've dumped me after what happened last night,' Andy said, a small bubble of nervous laughter from him making itself known.

'...What happened?'

'Well, Jimmy came up with this idea-'

'-He usually does-' Thomas said wryly. He was well-aware of Jimmy and his "bright ideas".

'Of all of us sitting in a circle and playing Spin the Bottle, and, well-' Andy cut off mid-sentence, looking pointedly at Thomas.

'....Oh...' Thomas felt his face go red again. He forced himself to keep meeting Andy's eyes, parts of the night's events coming back to him in fragments as he tried not to stare at Andy's lips - which right now had never looked so kissable. 'We- We kissed, didn't we-?'

'-Did a whole bloody lot more than that if I remember it right,' Alfred's voice cut in smartly. He was standing in the doorway, looking a little disheveled in his tartan dressing gown but more-or-less put-together. '...Good to see you two are up. I didn't think I'd be able to separate you, you were stuck to each other all night like superglue...'

Alfred turned a dial of his radio - then the music started.

Loud, piercing music in Thomas' hangover-addled head. '...What the fuck? Alfred!' Thomas protested, clamping his hands over his ears. He saw Andy wince from the corner of his eye, but the man didn't speak up about his discomfort.

'Sorry, Thomas,' Alfred said, taking a sip of the mug of coffee in his hands. 'But I'm not cleaning all this stuff up by myself. Last time I let you all sleep in, Jimmy slept 'til noon and sulked around like a bear with a sore head, which was bloody useless of him. I had to clean everything up - even though he's supposed to be chipping in since he's a roommate!' Alfred looked pointedly over at the lump of cushions and jackets on the sofa, which Thomas concluded to be Jimmy due to the wave of blond hair sticking out.

'Keep ya bloody wig on Alfred, I'm getting up...' was Jimmy's muffled reply. '...So turn the fucking music down, would ya?'

Alfred relented and turned the music down a little, much to Thomas' relief. Alfred could never really stick to his guns when it came to Jimmy.

'It was a great party, Alfred. Honestly,' Andy said. 'Th-Thanks for having me over. Sorry if I caused any trouble...' He tailed off, cheeks growing hot as his embarrassment shone through again.

'No problem... We were all a bit drunk,' Alfred said, going a little red in the face himself just then ( _Probably remembering the Cha-Cha-Slide_ ). 'Daisy's making coffee in the kitchen. We should still have some milk left. Help yourselves to some tea or something...'

'I'm going to make some tea, then,' Andy said, getting to his feet shakily (God, he really _was_ tall). 'Thomas, do you want something?'

 _I like the way he says my name,_ Thomas thought before he could stop himself. Hangovers usually made everything look shitty to Thomas but _Andy_ , Andy seemed downright lovely. Manners and shy smiles and dark curls. He wasn't exactly Thomas' type though...

_Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe I could get used to someone like this-_

'-Er, Thomas? Still there?' Andy asked with a laugh.

'Y-Yeah... Yeah, I'd like some tea if that's alright. No sugars. I'd do it myself but I don't think I'm going to move ever again,' he said, drawing another lovely, lovely laugh from Andy.

Andy smiled and left Thomas to settle back in the criminally comfortable denim jacket that was still draped over his shoulders. Thomas smiled at the bizarre serenity the morning after a party brung, trying to tune out Alfred and Jimmy's bickering. Finding himself with a few moments of solitude, Thomas adjusted Andy's jacket, nose catching the pleasing scent of Andy's cologne. Thomas' whole body shivered a little as more memories came to mind - resting his head against Andy's chest, foreign fingers running through his own hair, soft lips that tasted like cider.

Thomas stifled a yawn, leaning back, trying to ignore the constant dull presence of his headache as he closed his eyes. He was exhausted but strangely at peace with his surroundings. Music drifted throughout the room, and Thomas actually found himself starting to enjoy it - now, if only Alfred could bring himself to turn it down a few more notches...

'Hey, you asleep again?' Andy asked, amusement in his voice as he returned from his recent expedition to the kitchen.

'...No,' Thomas said, wincing at the defensiveness of his own tone as he opened his eyes again.

'One tea, no sugars...' Andy said, holding out a chipped mug to Thomas.

'Thank-you,' Thomas said, smiling with gratitude as he took the mug from Andy. 'So how are you holding up? Feeling worse for wear?'

'I'm feeling a little delicate, I guess,' Andy said, both of them laughing at Andy's choice of words. 'But otherwise I'm fine.'

 _That's because he's younger than me,_ Thomas thought with a small internal sigh. _Too young for anything to come of this. I shouldn't be kidding myself. It was nice while it lasted but we're far too different... And we'll probably never even see each other again._

'-Good morning, everyone!' Daisy said as she entered the living room of the flat, a knitted blanket draped around her shoulders and her hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Alfred and Jimmy finally stopped arguing long enough to return the greeting, though Thomas knew they'd be back at it sooner rather than later.

'Good morning, Daisy...' Thomas and Andy said simultaneously, before both laughing nervously at the strange coincidence.

'Hello, Mister and Mister Attached-At-The-Hip,' Daisy said with a giggle. 'You two certainly seemed to enjoy the party last night...! Aren't you glad I got you to turn up this time, Thomas?'

Thomas fought to keep his expression neutral. 

Andy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. '...It was a great party, wasn't it?' he said after a moment to clear the air.

'Yeah, it was fun!' Daisy replied enthusiastically. 'The Bateses had to go home early, but it was probably for the best when the karaoke started. We have one every year, don't we, Thomas? Still, Andy'll soon know all about the stuff we do when he joins the department!'

Thomas felt shock and a curious feeling of anticipation run through him. 'You're going to work for Grantham Industries?' he asked Andy.

Andy smiled and nodded. 'Y-Yeah, I think I mentioned it last night. I'm looking forward to it. It's a real step-up from my other job. I'm glad I got to know the people I'll be working with from now on...'

 _So. Maybe I'll be seeing more of him after all..._ Thomas felt a little apprehensiveness but also undeniable excitement.

'You dropped the bottle, you should clean up all the broken glass on the floor!' Alfred said, his voice rising in volume.

'You were the one who tripped me!' Jimmy retorted, massaging his own temples irritably.

'That's a lie and you know it!'

'Oh, not this again...!' Daisy said with an exasperated sigh. 'I'll be right back with you two,' she said to Thomas and Andy, before she did her best to diffuse the argument regarding the Broken Glass Incident.

'Well, I'm going outside for a smoke,' Thomas said. 'This is probably gonna take a while, so I may as well. Some fresh air might do me some good.'

'Fresh air and nicotine?' Andy said, before looking down with an embarrassed smile.

Thomas shrugged slightly. 'Yeah. Something like that.'

'Can I come with?'

'Sure,' Thomas said softly.

They both got to their feet, but the world started spinning again and Thomas found himself clutching onto Andy for support. 'Um, I'm s-' Thomas began, but Andy interjected.

'It's alright,' Andy said. 'I don't mind if you hold onto me. I won't let you fall. Someone had to make me tall for something...' He laughed again, the sound music to Thomas' ears for some reason.

'Well, how about this...?' Thomas said, taking Andy's hand, feeling shy all of a sudden.

Andy smiled slightly. 'Yeah. That'll do just fine.'

~*~

As the pair of them stood outside and listened to the birds in the trees, Thomas still wearing Andy's jacket around his shoulders, Thomas found himself looking forward to the future with more excitement than he had for what felt like months. After the initial embarrassment, conversation flowed easily between them. Thomas already felt like he'd known Andy a while.

They had a long way to go, and maybe nothing would come of the night they'd already had, but Thomas found himself hoping for a second (and definitely sober) chance to get to know kind, shy Andy in the denim jacket, and the way Andy's hand squeezed his own a little every now and then told Thomas that Andy was thinking the same way.


End file.
